Bolt strikes twice as Mariners win 4-0

Usain Bolt bagged himself a brace in an unforgettable night in his football journey as the Central Coast Mariners beat Macarthur South West United 4-0. Bolt's brace was complimented by strikes to Ross McCormack & Jordan Murray.

It was a promising first ten minutes for the Mariners who threatened Macarthur’s goal on several attempts. The Mariners used this momentum to their advantage through Tommy Oar who sprinted down the left wing and delivered a wonderful cross that met McCormack's diving header. The two new boys combined for our first goal of the night.

The Mariners continued their dominance in possession but struggled to break through a strong South West United defence. South West United slowly came into the game creating a couple of chances that threatened the Mariners goal but the pairing of Kye Rowles and Jake McGing kept the Macarthur side scoreless.

The first half continued with several chances falling to either side but both defences held firm. Usain Bolt had his best chance of his Mariners career so far with a header going JUST wide of the goal. The Yellow and Navy managed to add a second to their tally with Jordan Murray converting a Jack Clisby corner right before halftime where the Mariners went into the sheds two goals to none.

The second half continued in the same pattern as the first with both sides applying pressure in the front third. Usain managed to continue getting chances but couldn’t convert a low, drilled cross from McCormack which evaded everyone in the box.

The Mariners continued through the half, determined to add more to the scoreboard and they finally did with Usain Bolt putting a low, hard effort past Eze Consoni scoring his first professional goal in the yellow and navy stripes which saw Campbelltown Stadium erupt.

The Mariners continued to control the game in the second half. This dominance led to Bolt doubling his tally for the night and adding a fourth following a mistake from the Macarthur keeper.

Throughout the half, youth players Michael Glassock, Charles M'Mombwa, Jordan Smylie and Matthew Hatch earned valuable game time as the Yellow and Navy continued their second half dominance. Macarthur forced Adam Pearce into making a great save that denied the striker a certain goal.

The second half finished with both sides battling for possession but tonight will be remembered for all the right reasons as Usain Bolt’s brace helped the Mariners to a 4-0 win over the Macarthur South West United side.

Usain Bolt

"I’ve been working, trying to get fit to the level that I can play for 45 minutes," Bolt said. "To me, I played well and happy with the progress I’m making. I was telling myself if I got the guy off my shoulders, set up myself and hit the target, that was the key thing.

"The coach told me you will get chances, don’t get frustrated if you miss it’s a part of the game, you got to continue pushing till you get those chances. I need more games to get better and to know where to be. The coach will play me in different places, because of my speed, other strikers.

"We will sit down with the club, discuss and see if we want to move forward and what I need to do and how to do that. For me I’m taking this a step at a time and I want to push myself to see how far I can go. We have to sit down after this game, the season will come up, figure out what were got to do but until that I’m here to train.

"I don’t have a lot of experience on the field, you got to be ready for anything to come and it will come with experience. With more time we will get better (McCormack) you play with the players the more you know what they want. Four months is the time frame that I should understand the players, how they play, what they want from me, what I need to do, where I need to be and how I should push myself.

"All I can do is do what I wanted to do, prove myself. They’ve seen what I’m capable of, how I am training, they need to analyses and determine if I’m good enough for the club. Overall, I should work on everything, my positioning is much better, I’m running in space much better. Controlling the ball and vision is my poorest areas even though they’ve improved a lot while I’ve been here they could improve a lot more. I know what I need to do to get better, it’s all about if I get time, play with the guys at training. You can train all you want but it’s all about playing time, it’s a lot like track and field.

"It was brilliant. It took a lot of weight off my shoulders. That first goal to relax you because I missed an earlier chance. It was a great feeling I was happy about it," Bolt said.

Goals:

8’ McCORMACK (1-0): Tommy Oar sprinted down the left wing and put in a wonderful delivery that was fired home by a Ross McCormack diving header.

42’ MURRAY (2-0): A sensational delivery from a Jack Clisby corner is met by the head of Jordan Murray that evaded two defenders on the line and found its way in.

55’ BOLT (3-0): Bolt managed to wriggle his way past the Macarthur defender and powerfully placed the ball in the back of the net. A classy finish.

69’ BOLT (4-0): A miscommunication between defender and goalkeeper meant that Usain Bolt could tap the ball in the back of the net bagging a brace.